614 S. Main Street

Classification:

Primary

Year Built:

1869

Style:

Vernacular

This one and one half story residence is rectangular in plan with additions and has an intersecting gable roof with a hip roof extension. Composition shingle is the roofing material. Shiplap siding with cornerboards sheaths the exterior. A concrete pier foundation has been added to support the residence. The windows are paired one over one double hung sash with projecting cornice. There is a vertical panel and molded glazed door. The porch is covered with a hip roof which is supported by Doric columns and has a solid balustrade. The second story of the house was added c. 1905. The south wing and rear extension are also both additions. The building faces east on the corner of Main Street and "F" Street and is in good condition. The building was associated with Henry Hill, the founder of the town of Independence located south of Ash Creek. Hill came to Independence in 1847 and filed his Donation Land Claim south of Ash Creek. After a devastating flood in 1861, which destroyed the original town of Independence which was located north of Ash Creek, residents of "Old Town" persuaded Hill to plat a new town on higher ground on his DLC. The new town site was forty acres of land, south of Ash Creek and bordering the Willamette River on the east. The building is probably the oldest structure on South Main Street. Henry Hill was born in Jefferson County, New York and came west in 1847 to claim land. Henry married Martha Ann Virgin in 1854 and began to farm and raise stock. Hill was one of the first to grow hops in the area and had a love for race horses. He built a race track in town which was located on "I" Street and Third, Fourth, and Fifth. Henry dies in 1904. The house has remained in the ownership of the Hill's family since that time.